page 329 - Long Walk Original Manuscript [LWOM_329.jpg]

out of the mess by pointing out that we treated her as a sister and not as a worker. It did not work. "You stupid nipper. Where were you when I was struggling for my rights in that hosue? If I had not fought hard against your uncle I would not have been treated like a sister!"

It was time for me to change the subject.

On several occasions during political demonsrations I made the same mistake for our whole relationship was that of friends and the idea that she was a worker never really sank into my mind. She was keen on stay at homes and frequently taunted me with drifting away from the struggle or of lack of militancy when ever a long interval ensued without a mass campaign. Although she was a member of the ANC and even recruited a few women in her area, I suspected that her keeness on strikes was motivated by the fact that they would add to her holidays.

A few months before the strike my nephew, Nxeko Mtirara, brother of Sabata, who was then employed as a clerk by the Johannesburg City Council was envolved in an accident in which he broke a leg and lay in Baragwanath Hospital for about 6 months. His wife Phyllis, a nurse, was employed by the same council. One Sunday afternoon while my nephew was still in the hospital, the ambulance in which she was travelling collided with another car and she died on the spot leaving behind two children, the eldest of whom was 5years old. At the time of her death she was in an advanced stage of pregnancy and it was a tragic loss not only to my nephew but to me personally for she was not only a relative but a friend we all dearly loved. According to law and custom Nxeko